Trip type: scramble, mountain bike
Special gear: mountain bike
Elevation gain: approx. 3,650 feet (approx 1,112 meters)
Round-trip distance: approx. 16 miles (1 mile on foot, 15 miles on bike)
Total Time: 5 hours 30 minutes
USGS Quad: Mount Si
In Area: North Fork Snoqualmie Drainage
Aesthetic rating: 2.5/5
Trip Report
I parked at North Fork gate 11.
I rode my mountain bike east on road 32000. Road 32000 (labeled "Spur 10" on Greentrails) had a sign stating that no motorized access is allowed without a permit, call Hancock Forest Management at (360) 825-1637 for more information. The map says it all, so I won't give details of which roads I took. The roads are well marked up to the last turn-off to Lake Hancock (which I didn't take), and they are gradual enough that I didn't have to push my bike up the road very often. The roads are also in excellent shape, on my ride down I averaged 10+ miles per hours, I would have gone faster if I didn't have to worry about logging trucks on their way up. The Hancock's Comb area is actively being logged, I encountered a bulldozer and lot of trucks on the road and there were about 10 loggers working just SW of Hancock's Comb.
I parked my bike next to a berm south of Hancock's Comb and continued east on the road for a short distance then ascended the SE ridge of Hancock's Comb. The ascent was a continual bushwack to the top.
Comments
If you're not going to get a permit and drive the logging road to just S of Hancock's Comb (my Subaru Impreza could easily make it), then mountain biking is the way to go.
The views at the end are nice, and at the start there are some views of Mount Teneriffe, Dixie Peak, and Fuller Mountain, but most of the way is through logged areas with views of nothing.
References
- Northwest Hikers: Trip reports
Driving Directions
Take I-90 E from Seattle. Take exit 31 and set your odometer to zero at the stop sign. Go N on Bendigo Blvd. At 0.7 miles go right on N Bend Way. At 0.8 miles (two blocks) go left on Ballarat Ave N. At 1.3 miles Ballarat Ave N turns into 420 Ave SE, then at 1.5 miles the arterial turns into NE 12th St, then at 2 miles the arterial turns into 428 Ave SE, and finally at 3.8 miles the arterial turns into North Fork Snoqualmie Road SE. At 4.9 miles at a Y (with deadend signs for both forks) go to the left (uphill). At 5.3 miles North Fork Snoqualmie Road SE turns to gravel.North Fork gate 11 (which blocks road 32000) is at a large 4-way intersection 3.5 miles after the North Fork Snoqualmie Road turns into gravel (8.8 miles from I-90). A permit is required to drive past gate 11, see North Fork gate 11 for more.
Maps
- Online map with route drawn on it: Hancock's Comb via logging roads map
Travel Times
Total time on trail including breaks: 5 hours 30 minutesDriving there time: 55 minutes
Ascending via bike time (not including breaks): 2 hours 45 minutes
Ascending time (not including breaks): 38 minutes
Descending time (not including breaks): 35 minutes
Descending via bike time (not including breaks): 46 minutes
Driving back time: 1 hour 1 minute
Altitudes below are readings from my altimeter so they are only approximate.
- 2008/05/08: 34 minutes driving there from Lower Queen Anne (200') to exit 31 (480')
- 3 minutes driving there from exit 31 (480') to North Bend (435')
- 9 minutes driving there from North Bend (435') to where North Fork Snoqualmie Road turns into gravel (600')
- 9 minutes driving there from where North Fork Snoqualmie Road turns into gravel (600') to North Fork gate 11 (1,030')
- 2 hours 45 minutes ascending via bike from North Fork gate 11 (1,030') to berm below Hancock's Comb (4,320')
- 38 minutes ascending from berm below Hancock's Comb (4,320') to Hancock's Comb (4,680')
- 35 minutes descending from Hancock's Comb (4,680') to berm below Hancock's Comb (4,285')
- 46 minutes descending via bike from berm below Hancock's Comb (4,285') to North Fork gate 11 (955')
- 20 minutes driving back from North Fork gate 11 (955') to North Bend (340')
- 20 minutes driving back from North Bend (340') to intersection of I-90 and I-405 (-15')
- 21 minutes driving back from intersection of I-90 and I-405 (-15') to Lower Queen Anne (45')
Visited
Paperboy Peak from Hancock's Comb
Bessemer Mountain, South Bessemer Mountain, and Moolock
-and-Paperboy-Peak-from-Hancock's-C.jpeg)
Boomerang Peak (left) and Paperboy Peak from Hancock's C
Bessemer Mountain over clearcut near Lake Hancock
Hancock's Comb from just past North Fork gate 11
